The Martial God with Psychic Powers

It was clear what Yeon Woo Jin was saying, but they couldn’t fully grasp it.
One thing was certain.
This was definitely a formation they should never step into.

Everyone stared at Yeon Woo Jin with eyes wide and trembling.
“S-So, you’re saying... we have to experience death inside that formation?”
“Don’t worry. Inside it, everything will feel completely real — the sensations, the pain — but you won’t actually die. You get to experience death without actually dying. Where else will you get an opportunity like that? You’re incredibly lucky to receive this chance.”

Lucky? Was it really a stroke of luck?
It didn’t feel like it.
It felt more like torture.

One of the students, voice trembling, asked,
“S-So... when does it start?”
At the very least, they needed time to mentally prepare themselves.

“Right now.”
They wouldn’t get a chance to prepare.
“Get ready. That’s an order.”

An order.
There was no room for argument.
They had just started to get used to the previous training. It had even started to feel somewhat manageable.

Manageable, my ass.
Now, hell awaited them.
 
****

“Aaaaaargh!”
“Uuughh!”
Horrific screams echoed endlessly, creating a scene straight out of hell.

This was Baekyak Temple.
From a distance, anyone watching might have mistaken them for criminals being tortured.
They might have thought that Mushincheon had gathered all its condemned and was punishing them here.

Crack—
Snap—
The sounds of bones dislocating and muscles twisting resounded from every direction, drowned out by the screams.

They were in the midst of the Heavenly Muscle Reformation Array, bodies being forcibly restructured.
No form of torture could possibly surpass the agony they were enduring now.
Not just their bodies, but their minds were being reshaped too.

A vicious tenacity was being embedded within them — a cold, unyielding resolve that would not waver under any circumstance.
Soon, they would be able to laugh through even the most excruciating pain.
Meanwhile, those who had already undergone the Heavenly Muscle Reformation Array — Sunwoo Baek, Jang Woon, Bang Woon, Gong Ya Cheon, Heo Wook, and Jang Man Seong — were fighting their way through a different kind of hell.

Thud—
“Urgh!”
A sword pierced straight through Heo Wook’s abdomen.

The sensation of being stabbed felt real.
The pain from the wound, the warmth of the blood spilling out — all of it felt disturbingly real.
Heo Wook wasn’t the only one. Every single one of them was covered in wounds.

Gong Ya Cheon was fighting with one leg missing, his eyes bloodshot and wild.
“Die, you bastards!”
They fought like madmen, eyes blazing red, resembling wrathful demons.

How much time had passed?
After defeating the last remaining monster, they all collapsed to the ground.
“Haaah... Haaah... Fuck! This is supposed to be an illusion?”

“Should we be relieved that we’re not actually dying? Or should we despair that we’re trapped in an endless hell?”
As they lay there, gasping for breath and cursing, the pain that had wracked their bodies gradually began to fade.
Wounds that had been gaping open sealed shut.

Gong Ya Cheon’s severed leg reformed itself, as if it had never been torn off.
“This is insane.”
“We’re going to lose our minds at this rate.”

In a space more real than reality itself, it was impossible to tell how much time had passed.
They were forced to fight, over and over again, just to stay alive.
Just as their brief moment of rest was ending...

A mirage began to flicker before them, as new enemies started to take shape.
Jang Woon sighed heavily and stood up.
“They’re coming again. Get ready.”

“Goddamn it!”
“This time... they’re human?”
Up until now, they had been fighting things that looked like people but weren’t actually human.

Because they weren’t human, there had been no hesitation in attacking them.
But now, what was approaching them were unmistakably people.
“They’re illusions, right?”

“They... they have to be illusions.”
“What do we do?”
“What do you mean? We fight.”

“A-Are we supposed to kill them?”
“Hey! Don’t lose your nerve! They’re illusions!”
“Fuck! I know that! But they feel so damn real!”

Whoosh—
Slash—
“Urgh!”

The illusions attacked without warning.
Jang Woon narrowly dodged, but a deep gash was carved across his chest.
The pain was as real as the blood that poured from the wound.

Enraged, Jang Woon unleashed the full power of the Lightning Divine Art.
“Blazing Heat Palm!”
Thwack—

The sensation of striking flesh snapped Jang Woon’s mind back to reality.
Thud—
The man he had just struck spat out a mouthful of blood and crumpled to the ground.

He wasn’t moving.
Was he dead?
For a moment, it felt as if Jang Woon had actually killed someone.

The sickening, sticky feeling of taking a life clung to his hands.
“Hey! Watch out!”
Sunwoo Baek’s shout made him snap his head around.

Another illusion was charging at him, sword thrusting forward at blinding speed.
“Damn it!”
Jang Woon barely dodged the attack and immediately retaliated against the enemies.

Thwack— Thud—
The sound of fists hitting flesh echoed, accompanied by the heavy, visceral sensation.
Jang Woon wasn’t the only one feeling it.

The others were also grappling with the unsettling feeling that they were hitting actual people, not illusions.
“This... This feels way too real.”
“The realism is over the top.”

“If you have the strength to complain, use it to take down another one!”
Despite the unease, they continued to fend off the advancing enemies as quickly as they could.
“Huff... Huff...”

Eventually, they defeated the last enemy and collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.
This time, the tension was on a whole different level.
Their eyes were fixed on the bodies of the fallen enemies.

Please disappear, they silently begged.
Ssshhh—
“Ah! Thank god! They were illusions after all!”

“Shit! It felt so real... It’s like I actually killed someone.”
“But when does this end?”
“He said it ends when you die.”

“Huh?”
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
“When you die?”

“That’s what Woo Jin said. It ends when you die.”
“What dies?”
“No idea.”

“Wait... The dying part... It’s not us, right?”
“No way... It can’t be...”
Yeah, right.

That’s what they always say before it all goes to hell.
 
****

The next morning.
“Aaaah!”
Jang Woon bolted upright from the ground, screaming.

And then he met the eyes of the other kids sitting in front of him.
“You’re finally awake?”
Munch— Munch—

They were all eating something.
“Looks like your body was pretty drained. You were the last one to wake up.”
“I... I’m really alive, right?”

Smack—
“Ow! What the hell was that for?!”
Sunwoo Baek smacked him hard on the head, making Jang Woon yell out in pain.

“It hurts, right? That means you’re alive. Now come over here and eat.”
“What is it?”
“Food. Woo Jin left it for us as a reward for our hard work. He said to eat up and recover your strength.”

“What the hell... He gives us the disease and then the cure?”
“It’s good though. Not gonna eat? Then I’ll take yours.”
“Hey! Hands off! I-I’m eating it!”

Jang Woon rushed over and opened the three-tiered lunchbox.
Inside was rice and a variety of delicious-looking dishes.
Nom— Nom—

Relief washed over him as hunger kicked in. Jang Woon shoveled the food into his mouth, barely chewing.
After all, they had fought all night. It would’ve been stranger if they weren’t starving.
The food was delicious.

Jang Woon, with his mouth full, glanced at the others.
“Are you guys... okay?”
Munch— Munch—

His words were muffled by the food in his mouth, making his pronunciation slur.
“Swallow first, then talk.”
“Mmph.”

Nom— Nom— Gulp—
He drained the cup of water beside him and wiped his mouth.
“Ahhh! I feel alive again. Buuurp!”

Jang Woon let out a loud belch, patting his stomach in satisfaction.
Sunwoo Baek’s voice drifted into his ears.
“That was just a warm-up.”

“Huh? This food? It was pretty damn good for just a warm-up. And there was a lot too.”
“No... The formation.”
“Huh?”

“What we went through today — that was just a ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) warm-up.”
“What do you mean? We fought until we all died!”
“Woo Jin said we can’t afford to get beaten by enemies that weak.”

“So... we’re doing this again tomorrow?”
“Yeah. And tomorrow... he said time will move slower.”
“What? Time will move slower?”

“He said that even if we train for just a day, it will feel like a month’s worth of training.”
“Right. That way, we can get stronger faster and crush Cheongseok as soon as possible.”
“Is that... even possible?”

“If it was anyone else saying it, I’d call it bullshit... but since it’s Woo Jin saying it...”
Nobody said anything.
If it was Yeon Woo Jin, then somehow, it felt like it really would be possible.

The silence was broken by Gong Ya Cheon.
“I didn’t believe Woo Jin when he said he’d been going easy on us all this time... but it was true.”
“We’re dead.”

“Woo Jin said that from now on, we’d be facing hell... and if we didn’t want that, we should run away tonight.”
“Run away? To where?”
“Anywhere.”

“And he’d just let us go?”
“No idea.”
“So, are you going to run?”

“Are you insane?”
“There’s no way I’m running!”
“I’d rather die than leave!”

Jang Woon smirked.
“Alright! Then let’s survive this together! And to do that, we need to identify our weaknesses, right? Let’s point out each other’s flaws. After all, it’s easier to see what others are doing wrong.”
“You — you hesitate too much. We kept shouting that it was all an illusion, but you still hesitated. Why?”

“Because... it felt too real.”
“Even if it feels real, you can’t hesitate. Those illusions were trying to kill you.”
“I guess...”

“That was just a warm-up yesterday. If that had been a real fight, you’d be dead.”
“And what about you? Were you perfect?”
Sunwoo Baek tilted his head at Jang Woon’s words.

“I didn’t hesitate.”
“No, you didn’t. But your moves were way too flashy. It’s like you were trying to show off or something.”
“Me?”

“Yeah.”
At Jang Woon’s words, the other kids nodded in agreement.
“Woon’s right. You move like you’re performing for an audience or something.”

If everyone else was saying it, it must be true.
Sunwoo Baek chuckled bitterly.
“It really is different when others are watching, huh?”

“Yeah. If you were just thinking about it on your own, you’d probably never notice. But we’re all seeing it from the outside.”
“What about me? What am I lacking?”
When Gong Ya Cheon asked, Jang Woon, Sunwoo Baek, Heo Wook, and Jang Man Seong all shouted in unison.

“You’re still too weak!”
Gong Ya Cheon’s face fell at the unanimous response.
Then he turned to Bang Woon.

“You — you fight too much on your own. You need to work with the group.”
“Sorry. I’ve never fought alongside anyone before.”
“Then start now. From now on, let’s keep an eye on each other and point out what we’re doing wrong every day.”

“Agreed!”
 
****

Time-Space Division Formation.
That was the name of the formation where the six students deemed the elite among the lower ranks were currently training.
Not only them — the top student of the intermediate division, Go Seung, and the top student of the senior division, Gwak Pyeong, were also undergoing training in separate Time-Space Division Formations, each accompanied by the second and third-ranked students from their divisions.

Meanwhile, the rest of the students were undergoing relentless body modification and hellish training day after day.
To make matters worse, the entire Baekyak Temple was now enveloped in a special power that altered the flow of time.
One day outside was equivalent to a month inside.

At first, the students didn’t believe it.
But what choice did they have?
Yeon Woo Jin had decreed that they wouldn’t be allowed to leave for the next two months.

He said he’d handle notifying their families, so they had no choice but to stay.
And so, they spent a full two months inside the formation.
When they finally emerged, they were shocked to learn that only two days had passed in the outside world.

How was such a thing even possible?
No matter how much they tried to wrap their heads around it, they couldn’t comprehend it.
During those two months of perceived time, the students had grown significantly stronger.

Especially those who trained within the Time-Space Division Formation had experienced explosive growth.
Go Seung could clearly feel how much stronger he had become.
At this point, he was confident he wouldn’t be as easily overpowered by Cheongseok’s top student as before.

As the exhausted students prepared to return home, relieved that their hellish training was finally over, they heard a thunderous announcement.
From now on, Baekyak Temple would always have the power to slow down time.
What did that mean?

It meant they would only be allowed to return home once a month.
Yeon Woo Jin smiled as he said, “Since it’s been such a long time, make sure you take a good look at your parents’ faces.”
But in reality, only two days had passed.

 
After sending the students off, Yeon Woo Jin summoned Hwang Sung to gather information about Cheongseok.
“The top student of Cheongseok Academy is a boy named Yoo Ji Gwang. His family is the Dokseon Clan, ranked fortieth among the martial sects.”

“Dokseon?”
“Their primary weapon is the fan, and they specialize in poison techniques. That’s probably why they’re called the Dokseon Clan — ‘Poison Fan Clan.’”